After a morning filled with phone calls, President Donald Trump has reportedly decided on his Supreme Court nominee. This decision has been heavily awaited by both Democrats and Republicans, as his decision could weigh the Court in favor of Trump’s policies. If Trump selects a conservative judge, the Court will advantage those with conservative ideals.
Trump has allegedly been torn between two potential nominees: Brett M. Kavanaugh and Thomas M. Hardiman.
The White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, supports Kavanaugh. Donald Trump’s sister Maryanne Trump Barry supports Hardiman, who is a former colleague of hers. Other possible picks for the nomination were not even addressed during the president’s calls this morning. He is set to announce his decision at 9:00 PM on Monday.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Raymond Kethledge were the other candidates considered for the selection and, although they were not reportedly included in the phone calls, they both have garnered notable amounts of support. Judge Barret has received the endorsement of Sean Hannity, who was seen playing golf with his longtime ally Donald Trump on Sunday. While Kethledge has received some support from liberals, conservatives have urged Trump not to pick him due to his similarities to Justice David Scouter. While Scouter was selected by a conservative president, he sometimes sided with the liberal justices on the Supreme Court and voted alongside them.
Kavanaugh has received the most attention from Trump’s advisers. Many Republicans admire his work as a lawyer who played a crucial part in the Bill Clinton investigation. Kavanaugh then served as a judge during George W. Bush’s administration.
However, some are concerned due to the uncertainty surrounding Kavanaugh’s position on the Affordable Care Act, which is a major concern for the GOP. Senator Mitch McConnell has taken advantage of the Trump Administration’s bias against Obamacare to convince the President that Kavanaugh is probably not a safe choice.
Very few people know what President Trump is thinking and many are still unaware of his pick. This entire process has been highly controversial for several reasons.
First, Trump’s pick will replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who has been considered to be the most powerful of the judges on the Supreme Court. His importance stemmed from the fact that, while he was a conservative man and a Republican, he would sometimes vote in favor of liberal propositions. He was usually considered to be the “deciding vote.”
Trump’ decision has also gained attention because several Democrats have stated that the president shouldn’t be allowed to pick a candidate. This is due to the fact that Trump is currently under a criminal investigation, and his decision might cause a conflict of interest in the outcome of the counsel’s research. Those concerns would grow even more if Trump were to pick Kavanaugh, as Kavanaugh supports the idea of unchecked presidential power in executive matters – the “unitary executive theory.” If Kavanaugh were picked, Trump’s ongoing investigation would definitely be brought up during the voting process for the judge.
Many Democrats have argued that Republicans are being hypocrites, as they refused to hold a vote or even a hearing regarding President Obama’s pick for a Supreme Court judge in early 2016. Republicans replied that they wanted to delay the vote until the presidential elections scheduled for later in the year, and were eager to weigh the majority in the Court in the conservatives’ favor after Trump’s win.
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